H13 Pro: Dreame’s new wet/dry vacuum cleaner in action

My wife and I are a well-oiled machine when it comes to our weekly apartment cleaning routine. Tasks are clearly assigned, so we basically clean in tandem. At the end of each day, I vacuum the entire apartment and the hallway, while my wife mops the floor behind me. I can do these two steps in one go with the H13 Pro, according to editorial colleague Lorenz Keller, who suggested that I test the new wet/dry vacuum cleaner by Dreame. Getting all the cleaning done in half the time? Quite a claim!

When Lorenz hands me the Dreame H13 Pro, I feel a bit like James Bond when Q gives him new and unusual spy gadgets to save the world. I’m not going to be able to save the world with a vacuum mop though. Instead, I’m going to use it to rid our apartment of dust and dirt even more thoroughly from now on. Hopefully.

Vacuuming with a motor

When I pick up the H13 Pro for its first trip through our apartment, the first thing I notice is its weight. According to Dreame, the vacuum cleaner weighs 5.6 kilogrammes empty. With a full tank of water (900 ml), that makes it only slightly heavier than our conventional dry vacuum cleaner. The difference is that I have to carry the entire weight of the H13 Pro while vacuuming and mopping, whereas I can easily pull our usual vacuum cleaner behind me. That said, the vacuum cleaner doesn’t tie me down with a cable.

I fill the water tank, add ten millilitres of the cleaning fluid provided following the instructions, start up the vacuum cleaner and get to work. That’s when I realise that the manufacturer has taken weight into account. The H13 Pro has two motors built into it, which make both forwards and backwards movements much easier. Dreame calls this power system GlideWheel – I just call it great. All it takes is a slight movement forwards or backwards for the vacuum cleaner to start moving.

Battery life and cleaning modes

Following this very welcome discovery, I take a closer look at the display. The most important thing is given the most space: the battery level. You can literally watch it getting lower and lower while you are vacuuming – partly because of the constant LED lighting of the brush head. It’s a nice feature if you’re vacuuming in dark corners. But, personally, I prefer to clean in daylight.

Dreame states the maximum running time of the H13 Pro as 40 minutes. Once the battery’s empty, it needs about four hours on the charging base to get back to 100 per cent. The time it takes to drain the battery also depends on how you clean. There are four modes to choose from, which are also shown on the display:

Auto

Auto mode is activated by default when you start the H13 Pro. A sensor detects the amount of dirt present and the vacuum cleaner automatically adjusts its performance accordingly. The level of dirt determines battery life in this mode.

Turbo

Turbo mode cleans with maximum suction power. Maximum power means maximum battery consumption; the vacuum cleaner won’t last half an hour in this mode.

Ultra

According to Dreame, ultra mode activates electrolytic fresh water disinfection. This may be an important feature for countries where the tap water isn’t as clean as it is here in Switzerland. I’ve never needed it. But it definitely affects battery life.

Suction

It’s self-explanatory. In this mode, the H13 Pro vacuums without moistening the cleaning brush. It’s best to activate this mode before you switch on the vacuum cleaner and only when the brush is really dry. Otherwise, you’ll still end up with wet streaks during supposedly dry vacuuming. You’ll get closest to the maximum running time of 40 minutes in suction mode.

H(13 Pro) for hair

On its first outing, the H13 Pro’s battery in auto mode is barely enough for the approximately 100 square metres that make up our apartment and hallway, and I have to fill up with fresh water and empty the dirty water tank (700 ml) while cleaning. It’s a hassle for me. But it’s not the vacuum cleaner’s fault, it’s mine. I want to be especially thorough the first time. Well, the floors are sparkling clean.

The battery is always more than enough for subsequent cleaning sessions, and I don’t have to fill or empty the tank during the process. I’m still thorough. Or rather, the H13 Pro is. That's not a given for us. My wife, our daughter and I all have long hair. And then there are four cats, so some fur and hair inevitably end up on the floor. The H13 Pro has little to no trouble with this amount of hair. Just as Dreame claims.

Rice, rice, baby

According to the manufacturer, the H13 Pro has 18,000 pascals of suction power, with a maximum nominal output of 300 watts. As a layperson, I have no idea what that means. I compare it with our dry vacuum cleaner: 15,000 pascals at 160 watts. OK, the H13 Pro is clearly ahead – provided the manufacturers did their measurements under the same conditions. I do my own everyday test and spill some raw sugar. The wet/dry vacuum cleaner makes light work of it, removing the mess in one go.

Being the klutz that I am, I spill rice next. There’s more mess this time, but the H13 Pro has no problems with that either. I vacuum and mop back and forth a few times and the rice is gone.

For the ultimate endurance test, I squirted ketchup on the floor and let it dry. This is apparently a step too far for the H13 Pro – after going over it 30 to 40 times in auto and turbo mode, there’s still residue. I grab a degreasing cleaner and a cloth and remove it by hand. Have I found the final boss of the H13 Pro? Or would it have taken a dozen more runs back and forth? And who on earth lets ketchup dry in their apartment for several days?!

Self-cleaning at the touch of a button

Once the vacuuming and mopping is done, the H13 Pro boasts another feature that’s my favourite apart from the power system: self-cleaning. I place the vacuum cleaner on the charging base and press the relevant button on the handle. Pressing the same button again within five seconds activates drying the cleaning brush after the self-cleaning programme.

You need a fresh water tank that’s at least one-third full. This water is used to thoroughly clean the brush for five minutes. The subsequent drying takes about half an hour. Neither process is exactly silent; at times, they’re as loud as vacuuming and mopping.

Whether you make use of the self-cleaning or not, it’s advisable to clean the brush more thoroughly by hand from time to time. Dreame has also thought of this: the brush can be easily removed and reattached afterwards.

The waste water tank issue

Removing and attaching the two tanks is also easy. I just wash out the fresh water tank every now and then and refill it with water and cleaning solution. Just make sure you don't use too much of the latter. Unless you want a foam party on the floor that is.

Naturally, the dirty water tank requires a bit more work. During cleaning, it collects the dark grey dirty water, along with any dirt that’s sucked in, such as hair and dust. I dispose of all of it in the toilet and wash the tank, sieve attachment and filter thoroughly in the bath to get rid of as much residue as possible.

At this point, I strongly recommend that you always empty the dirty water tank as soon as you’ve finished cleaning! The dirty water starts to smell very quickly, and if you wait to empty the tank until the next time you use it, you’ll be in for a nasty olfactory surprise.

The pitfalls of everyday life…and the wet/dry vacuum cleaner

When using the H13 Pro every day, my wife and I gradually noticed a few things that bothered us. Little things like the fact you can’t adjust the height of the handle or that it doesn’t smell as clean after using the vacuum cleaner as it does when we use the mop. This is probably due to either the cleaning solution or the smell of the dirty water tank.

The H13 Pro is a literal burden for my wife: it’s too heavy for her. Despite the power system, she can feel the weight in her arm after just two rooms and her wrist hurts slightly. So, if you prefer something lighter and more ergonomic, you’d be better off avoiding this kind of battery-operated cleaning appliance.

What annoys me is the lack of flexibility. I can only tilt the H13 Pro to a certain angle before the brush lifts off the floor. This means I can’t get under all the furniture – or into gaps between the furniture that are narrower than the brush. I also often clean around objects, which is much more difficult with the H13 Pro than with our conventional vacuum cleaner.

Doubling up

Until I return my test model, I’m going to do two things. First, I’ll vacuum the apartment and hallway with our tried and tested vacuum cleaner and then mop with the Dreame wet/dry vacuum cleaner. Double the work? Maybe. But it gets things really thoroughly clean. At least it does where I can get to with the H13 Pro. And yes, I admit it’s just fun to whiz around the apartment with it, especially because of the power system.

Nevertheless, I won’t buy our own one; it’s just too expensive for me to buy as a complementary appliance. So, I’ll soon be back to vacuuming normally again with my wife mopping after me. It’s all good; we’re a well-oiled machine after all.